Exploring Berlin’s Courtyards in Loving Memory of Heinrich Zille [Berlin]
Posted on February 29th, 2008 in Travel News
This past Wednesday would have been the 150th birthday of Heinrich Zille, the artist described by Kurt Tucholsky as “the purest incarnation of Berlin.” Besides Zille’s cache of pornographic works on display at the Erotik Museum, his art mainly dealt with the city’s working classes and the hinterhof milljöh, the milieu established in the city’s countless courtyards by their blue-collar residents. Hinterhöfe (back courtyards) continue to be an iconic component of Berlin’s urban design, regardless of whether they’re unkempt littered cesspools or beautifully renovated and pristine.
These courtyards all have a certain undeniable charm that affords their building a unique personality, waiting to be discovered behind unassuming façades. Some are rambling gardens dotted with benches and fountains, others are unpredictable mazes secretly connecting side streets, and then there are those used more or less as a sound buffer and public toilet between the club and the sidewalk. Here’s a quick tribute to Heinrich Zille and Berlin’s beloved hinterhöfe.
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